Things I'll Never Say
by InnocentxSorrow
Summary: Ryoma & Fuji had always kept problems to themselves. Can the new girl rid them of these habits? It’s amazing, the things you realize when you lose someone. We always wait until they’re gone to say things we never had the courage to before. [RyoOCFuji]OOC.
1. Mada Mada Dane

**Title: **Things I'll Never Say

**Alternative Title:**Yakusoku

**Pairings: **RyomaOCFuji

**Warning: **Possible OOC ToT

(A/N)

Yahoo minna-san!

This is my first fic ever O.O

So brace yourselves!

This is going to be quite a long Author's Note. :D

This story may also be somewhat terribly clichéd. ToT

Apparently some people dislike seeing Romaji in English fics. I apologize in advance, because there might be quite a lot of that. It's just that…when I think about the scenes and stuff, I imagine them saying Japanese. Oo Anime Overdose XD

Oh and about the reference stuff. I don't like noting a little (1) or (2) here and there, because it always distracts me when I read fics. ;D Excuse me for any inconvenience caused. 

Basically this fic will follow the PoT timeline, though some events might be altered due to my own characters. It starts around the time just before the District Tournament XD

I hope you enjoy!

Oh and I promise the other Author's Notes won't be that long, and I'll try not to abuse anymore Romaji. Thank you!

I also _ever so humbly__and sincerely_ beg you from the bottom of my heart to bear with my million mistakes, and maybe take the time to correct them. :D

Much love to Iris-senpai (**Iris.D**) for beta-reading! Also thanks to KiriharaAkaya for the tips and stuff. ;D

Thanks for actually reading this. :D

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis. ****Takeshi Konomi****-sama does. I am just really in love with it, its plot and its characters. Especially Ryoma and Fuji. kyaaaa!**

**I also don't own Barbie and My Little Ponies. Oo ;D**

_**Summary: **__Ryoma & Fuji had always kept problems to themselves. Can the new girl rid them of these habits? It's amazing, the things you realize when you lose someone. We always wait until they're gone to say things we never had the courage to before. (RyoOCFuji)OOC._

_A new, insecure girl enters Seigaku and befriends the regulars. Got quite close to two in particular. As the story unfolds you gradually learn more about her and her dreams and how she strives to achieve them, how she wishes to change herself into a better person. XD Oh__ and romance. No corny sappy fic is ever completed without romance! FIRST FIC EVER! XD __RyomaOCFuji. OOCness._

_("Are all boys like this? Always trying to act cool and composed?" She dropped her voice into a low, deep drawl, imitating a mentally challenged cow.)_

---

_Promises are made to be broken._

---

A light sigh escaped from 12-year-old Echizen Ryoma's lips as he stretched with his racket behind his back. Momo-senpai had suddenly called and said that he couldn't come to the street tennis courts today after all – "Something came up." 

"Che." and Momo-senpai was the one who said they needed extra practice before the District Tournament began, too.

Ryoma disliked going to the street courts by himself, but since he was already here, he might as well stay – he would have to help mow the lawn or something if he went home now. Besides, even though most people who played singles here sucked – these courts were usually reserved for doubles players - a few were not so bad.

Today was one of those sickly sweet days – it had drizzled early this morning, and now that it was just after noon, the sun was shining down brightly, and a few crystal moist drops still clung to the leaves here and there, making the whole place seemingly glitter. The air around was fresh and clear, with the bittersweet smell of rain still drifting around.

It was these days that made Ryoma cringe, because they actually made him feel _good._ These days usually made him lose his composure and made him want to smile, which led to fangirls squealing, which led to utter annoyance in the end…which would then ruin the whole supposedly beautiful day.

He inhaled deeply, the fresh air clearing his whole body. A day like this made him feel all bright and cheerful inside, giving him an unsettling feeling that something good was going to happen. Something new, something…sweet. Something that he would like.

After finishing retying his shoelaces, Ryoma grabbed his racket and headed out onto the court, where his first opponent today was waiting with a leer that would soon vanish for sure.

The match began. 

----------

A girl of about 12 stood outside a couple of tennis courts that she was unfamiliar with, fiddling with her loose red T-shirt and tiny black shorts. Her shirt was so big it hid her curves, her shorts so small that it looked like she wasn't wearing any at all. She was waiting for her cousin and also known as only friend so far in Japan – Yuiko- to come. 

Yuiko had gone to run some errands all of a sudden and had told her to wait here, then they would go for ice-cream really quickly before the uniform shop closed. This girl forgot what school the uniform shop belonged to: it was the school she was going to enroll in! Today was Saturday so the shop closed early. They couldn't be late as it doesn't open at all tomorrow, and she would have to go to school on Monday!

This girl saw that some distance away, another girl was trying to get in the tennis courts…dressed in a pink mini-skirt and a white tank top. The big fat dudes who were watching the matches stopped her instead of the common reaction – drooling.

She could barely hear what they were shouting – 

"This ain't no place for sissies dressed like you! Go home and play with your Barbies and Little Ponies, whatever! Just go away! No girls should come here!" the biggest boy said. 

The mini-skirt girl looked as if she wanted to retort, but decided against it and drooped away. 

Back to Yuiko's cousin.

She titled her head, a small smile playing across her pretty features. She had brought her tennis racket…and Yuiko was late anyway. She could just play one little match or find a wall…The fat dudes shouldn't mind if she was dressed in tennis gear.

One final touch though.

The girl took off her white cap and gathered her long black hair like a ponytail, put it on top of her head and placed the cap back on. 

Now it looked like she had short hair!

_Just in case._

She looked down at her black watch and saddened. They were not going to make it on time! After all the shopping…they were sure to miss her one of her favourite anime on TV. Oh well. She could look up the episode online later.

Holding her breath, she walked in.

Nobody bothered to notice her.

She could feel her ponytail bulging, but it seemed that everyone just assumed it as an extraordinarily large head.

She looked around for an available wall, one of those walls with tennis court markings. All were occupied. 

"Ne," she heard a cocky voice say. "If you're just standing there, play me."

The girl turned into the direction of the voice and gasped.

Well, not really.

More like a, "Heh?"

----------

Ryoma sighed again. None of the good single players were here today. It was kind of boring actually…After defeating another player (6-0), he looked around desperately in search for another opponent.

Finally, he spotted a boy of about his age (with a very big head, he noted additionally) just standing there, holding a tennis red tennis racket that was just a shade brighter than his own.

He decided to play him…even though his hopes weren't high. If he didn't even struggle a tiny bit with older, taller guys around here, what could a boy shorter than himself give him?

Oh well.

It was better than going home and trying to escape from the massive bunch of perverted magazines that his baka oyaji would shove in his face.

The boy turned from the distance, and Ryoma couldn't really see his face – his coal black hair was framing it…

The boy seemed surprised, eyes widening. Still, he went to the other side of the court and got into 'ready_'_position. 

Ryoma attempted to walk over to the net, but the boy seemed somewhat…_scared_, and backed away. He lifted an eyebrow and halted, taking a few steps back.

"Rough or smooth?" Ryoma said, preparing to spin his racket. 

The boy merely shrugged. A hint of annoyance flickered across Ryoma's face. What _was_ with this boy?

"I'll take rough then." The tennis prince spun his racket and it rattled to a stop – the logo of the racket upside down.

Echizen couldn't even bring himself to smirk. This was going to be too easy. Walking towards the service line, he faintly saw the boy nod, and hit his trade mark Twist Serve.

Seeing the boy gasp and barely dodge, Ryoma smirked – purely out of habit.

"Mada mada dane."

--------

Ryoma's current opponent – said boy gasped softly again as the tennis ball bounced towards her face. She dodged in the blink of an eye, trying to remember the ball's route and immediately remembered her mother's way of returning it.

She recognized her opponent. He was the son of her mother's friend, Echizen Ryoma. 

Child Prodigy, amazing talent.

She'd wanted to play him for a long time…

_Never thought I'd get to play him this way though, _she mused to herself.

Echizen Ryoma thought she was a boy!

How very extremely amusing. She tried not to burst out laughing and kept quiet.

No, she wasn't shy. Far from it. When her friends were around, she was so loud that a classmate from USA had declared that he had _ear cancer_ from encountering the misfortune of sitting next to her for one hour.

Yup, so she wasn't shy, she just didn't like talking to strangers. Especially those of the opposite gender. She was sort of _scared_ of talking to them actually. It takes her quite some time to warm up to people, but when she did – eventually – she would display her famous habit - shout in their ear and laugh very, very loud. 

"_Maybe getting closer to her wasn't such a good idea after all_." Most people would think that, after befriending her for long enough. Despite that though, her friends found her a great ball of fun, and they were this girl's most valuable treasures too. When her friends were happy, she would be happy – it fills her with such warmth when she thinks about how her friends would laugh and smile whenever she made a joke or did something eccentric – as usual. Her friends were almost, just almost, her everything – her source of strength, her reason for standing up again after another round with her mother.

Sure, she could live without friends. She didn't believe in the phrase, "Can't live without blah blah blah." 

Because most people who says this probably _could_ live.

Their lives would just turn miserable and not worth living.

And maybe then they would die _inside._

She had had to leave all her friends behind in USA and return to Japan, her home town. But she trusted her friends to contact her often enough. 

And she would meet new ones!

----------

Ryoma drew in his breath too quickly and almost choked. He had only hit the Twist Serve twice, and now this kid in front of him returned it on the third time with a return ace! The ball had accelerated at breakneck speed, and he couldn't recover from his shock fast enough.

"30-15!"

His eyes narrowed and he silently passed his racket from his right to his left.

----------

Both parties panted and heaved, sweat trickling down their faces.

Ryoma was breathless, expression aghast. This kid was the only one today who had managed to score more than 0 games.

In fact, the kid managed to snatch 3 games from him! Of course, Ryoma was leading 4-3, but still.

Said kid served, a familiar sharp serve that curved towards the face.

"_Twist Serve?!" _The two words sprinted across Ryoma's mind as he forced himself to hit it. It was a poor return, and his opponent smashed the ball down immediately

Ryoma cursed under his breath. His expression grew more bewildered by the second.

'Kid' seemed to have noticed, and forced her voice about one or two octaves lower.

"Okaa-san taught me that." She drawled. After hearing how retarded she sounded, she choked back a giggle fit. She definitely wasn't 'warm' with Echizen Ryoma yet, but his expressions were so funny!

And she really loved tennis. It made her hyper! The only things she liked more were her friends, anime, singing, and Allen-san.

…Forget her family.

_Or lack of thereof._

----------

More and more people were gathering around to watch 'Kid' and Ryoma's game. 

Echizen decided to use a move he had been saving for the District Tournament. 

_Twist Smash._

Everyone stared in awe as the ball spun and rotated at such a high speed that it became a blob of UFO-beam-green. 

The blob – ball – bounced and before 'Kid' could move, it went for her hat and it flew off, releasing her long hair.

It seemed to cascade endlessly behind her shoulders until it came to a stop just below her waist.

She froze.

----------

Ryoma couldn't even muster up enough strength to say what he would usually say after making a comeback. All this time…he – no, she – was a _girl?!_

A _girl_ managed to play him so long and win so many games?! 

It took himvirtually three minutes to recover his shock – that's a lot for him – and he examined this girl.

Her black hair was slightly matted to her head from all the sweat, and her cheeks were flushed and tinted a rosy pink. Now that the hat was off her head, Ryoma could see her eyes. He wasn't sure, but her eyes were…probably black…a deep, sparkling black…or was it a midnight blue? 

Ryoma shook his head to clear all these thoughts.

Who cared what colour her eyes were? They could be pink or yellow or rainbow coloured and he couldn't have cared less. 

----------

She tried to relax as everyone stared at her, whispering.

One of the fat dudes from earlier couldn't help himself.

"A _girl_?!" he exclaimed.

Now the situation was certainly extremely amusing to the max. The girl couldn't resist smiling to herself.

"Don't be sexist! Like, yes, it's a scientific fact that most boys are stronger than girls physically, but not _all_! I mean, **speaking as a not-so-objective third party outsider with only the tiniest bit of interest in the matter of concern and not that much experience in said topic – Japan males and females, **that is." She babbled without taking a breath in between. This was one of the current tops in her "My Favourite Very Long Phrases to Confuse People" list. 

She grinned in satisfaction as everyone gaped.

"Hai…finally! It was so hard trying to be a boy so you guys wouldn't feel embarrassed or anything for assuming that I was one in the first place!" In normal circumstances, she wouldn't say that.

But today she was exceptionally…_energetic._. 

Then she turned to the temporarily-forgotten tennis prince.

"Are all boys like this? Always trying to act cool and composed?" She dropped her voice into a low, deep drawl, imitating a mentally challenged cow.

"Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaadaaaaaaaaaa maaaaaaaaaadaaaaaaaaaaaa daaaaaneeeeeeeeeee.:

Ryoma suppressed a grimace and cocked an eyebrow. He didn't sound like that at _all._

…Did he?

"You're really amazing, Ryo-chan! Even more than my expectations. I mean, dude, your Twist Serve is so sharp!"

Echizen didn't seem to have heard her.

"Saa!" the girl who seemed to have a split personality picked her cap back up and plopped it on her head, carefully putting her hair through the hole at the back. Now it seemed like she had tied her hair into a ponytail. "Let's continue!"

It was Ryoma's serve, but he seemed to remain unresponsive.

Even more unresponsive than usual.

The girl wanted to frown, but apparently that uses up a total of forty-three muscles, and would also increase your chances of sudden death. So she decided to serve on her own – not to gain a point whilst Echizen Ryoma was unaware, nope, but to wake him up.

She threw the ball into the air and waited for the split second where the ball is in the exact right place - 

"HIKARIIIIIIIIIII!"

"Eh?!" Surprised, she let the ball fall down on its on and whipped around to find the owner of the glass-shattering voice (her own voice may be louder though) glaring at her, albeit in a playful way.

"OH MY GOD! WHERE _WERE_ YOU?! WE'RE GOING TO BE LATE! OH MY GOD! I JUST TURNED AROUND FOR LIKE TENSECONDS! MOU!"

"Yuiko! Oh _my _God, where were _you? _You totally weren't gone for _ten__ seconds_, damnit! I waited for _ages!_ Now I won't be able to watch "_Kyou Kara Maou!" _tonight!"

Once again, everyone gaped.

Oblivious, the two cousins continued arguing. 

Finally, Yuiko grabbed Hikari's arm and tried to drag her away, failing as Hikari broke free to get her racket.

Once Yuiko saw to it that her younger cousin had retrieved everything, she tried pulling Hikari away once again.

"We have to go straight to the uniform shop thingy or it will close! AHHHH!!" Yuiko muttered, ending with a frustrated shout.

"Eh! Demo, you promised to go buy ice-cream! Yakusoku da, ya-ku-so-ku!" Hikari kept wailing the last word over and over.

Just as they were about to leave, Ryoma finally snapped out of his trance.

"Ma – matte!" he called as another unsettling feeling kicked into his stomach. It took a while to remember that feeling. He hadn't felt it for quite some time.

_Fear_.

He was actually _scared_ that he would never see this girl again.

"Heh?" Hikari turned around; the wind was blowing, her hair floating around her face.

Ryoma stilled. He suddenly realized he had leapt before he looked– something he usually never did. He had called out before knowing what he even wanted to say.

"Eh…eto…you…you can't just leave like that! The match…the match's not settled!" He finally decided upon that.

"Ahh…souka, soudayo ne! Gomen!" Her smile was apologetic. "I – "

"TOO BAD!" Yuiko butt in, "WE DON'T HAVE TIME! LET'S GO!"

"Wait!" Ryoma called out for the second time. He still wasn't close enough to see the colour of her eyes properly, and he didn't like that. "Umm…at least…at least…"

He forgot what he wanted to say once more.

"What's your name?" he struggled to remain his calm. 

"Oh right! Nihaha. Eto…Mitsuki Hikari desu! Yoroshiku ne! I know it's a weird name, don't ask! Heh." Hikari blurted at almost impossible high speed.

_Mitsuki __Hikari__…_

Ryoma tried to etch this name into his brain, despite his infamous horrible memory skills.

Then he remembered.

"Oh, right…and…I'm Ech - ," it wasn't right for Echizen Ryoma to stutter!

"It's Okay, I already know! Echizen Ryoma, ne? We'll probably meet again." Hikari wasn't sure why, but she felt so certain – maybe even more certain than any other time in her life, even – when she said that. "Yakusoku dayo! Ja neeeeeeeee!" Hikari's loud voice trailed off as Yuiko finally – using two hands, and all of her strength – towed her away.

After a few minutes of silence - except for the rustling of leaves – Ryoma crossed the courts and walked over to where Mitsuki Hikari had been.

A sparkle on the ground caught his eye and he picked it up without looking. It was Mitsuki Hikari's, he'd seen something drop off her shorts a while ago. 

The 2 girls were nowhere to be seen – all traces of them were gone, as if what just happened was only a dream, and nothing more. 

But since Mitsuki Hikari had _promised_ that they would meet again…

Ryoma looked down at the less-than-thumb-size keychain clutched in his left hand – it was a chibi version of a dude from some kind of anime that he'd seen on TV ages ago, with longish blond hair tied in a braid and this metal arm thingy. 

The chibi's arm had a blade, a blunt, plastic one, pointing up towards Ryoma. Its teasing glare was even more menacing

Ryoma gazed back at it, dumbfounded. A corner of his mouth voluntarily hitched upwards, forming a tiny crooked smile.

He whispered, "Yakusoku…ka?"

---

_But a promise blessed by fate would never be unkept._

_---_

**(A/N)**

My god it sucked so bad! ToT

Sorry if it seemed as if the writing styles are different, cuz I was in different moods when I wrote them. O.O

Was it too long?

Too draggy?

Too boring?

Gahhh.

I'm not very sure about "the girl", "this girl" and "Kid".

I just wanted to keep my fanfic anime-ish and mysterious, though I'm sure I failed miserably. ToT

**Reference/Dictionary thingy:**

In case you were wondering, 

I have a thing for fat dudes. :D 

Not in the romantic way, but they crack me up :D

**Bishounen**– directly translated it should be "pretty boy", and though it may be an insult (sissy, girly dude, etc) in English, I think it is considered a compliment in Japan. Basically it describes a boy with really pretty features. Like Wolfram from _Kyou Kara Maou! _ XD Ryoma can be described as a **bishounen**, I think. :D

**Mada mada dane** – I know he usually wouldn't say this _right_ after the first serve, but I needed him to say it somewhere and I couldn't find another time XD

**speaking as a not-so-objective third party outsider with only the tiniest bit of interest in the matter of subject and not that much experience in said topic – Japan males and females** – yes, those of you who noticed – it _is_ inspired by _She's the Man_. Heh. That's my fave non-anime movie! Muahahaha XD I really recommend it! ;)

**Kyou Kara Maou!** – The anime I am currently watching. So many bishies! EEEE! XD My best friend is like, obsessed with it. But then again, she's almost obsessed with all the anime(s?) she has watched :D

**Eto/ano** – Jap way of saying "Umm…" XD

**Souka** – directly translated is "Oh, I see" or something like that. I _think._ I learnt all this from watching anime! MUAHAHAHA. XD There is a meaning of "Oh, riiiiight!" in it though.

**Soudayo ne!** – directly translated should be "Oh yeah, you're right!" Or something with that meaning…--

**Gomen ne!** – abbreviation for gomen nasai [sp?, which means I'm sorry (basically).

(Gomen nasai- Sorry (most polite); Gomen, Gomen ne)

**Nihaha** – when Sekai laughs nervously, she'll laugh like that :D don't ask why. It's just cuz I like it. The main character of AIR – Misuzu – laughs like that too! How kawaii! XD

**Mitsuki** – according to Fullmoon wo Sagashite, it means full moon. Usually used for first names (first name as in John in John Smith). In fact, I don't think Mitsuki is allowed to be a last name at all. I dunnooo Oo; There's a reason though, and it will be revealed in later chapters. If I don't get around to plotting a place to put it, I'll just write up a random chapter :D

**Hikari** – light

**Yoroshiku, ne!** Yoroshiku is basically something you'd say after introducing yourself. In anime it is translated to "Please take good care of me" or something like that. "ne" is just something like "right?" or "okay?"

**Yakusoku** – Promise.

**Dayo** – something like…umm. If I say "Yakusoku dayo!" then it will probably be translated to "It's a promise!" or something like that.

**Ja ne! **– See you again! Or Bye! Or See ya! XD

**Ka?** – something like "huh?" but not in the "what are you talking about?" way. Like, "Yakusoku, ka?" is "A Promise, huh?" XD

('Ka' typically makes anything before it a question, as well)

Please review! I'm sure I had a ton of mistakes – even after Iris-senpai's wonderful editing…because I suck. ; I actually went ahead and changed things again after sending it to her for beta-reading…ToT


	2. Bishounen and Reunion

**Bishounen and Reunion.**

Oh my God, my eyes are burning from such a lame title.

Sorry for the late update! (Not that anyone would have anticipated this at _all_.  LMAO.) I had to write a short story for English. The teacher has issues. She told us to write SUSPENSE at the top of the page in our guidelines thingy, and that it must have a plot – beginning, middle, problem, resolution, end. It must have a nice atmosphere, and the characters must be caught in a life risking situation over and over, getting extremely close to death, then out of it again.

And she told us to do all that in maxium THREE PAGES. Seriously. I almost pulled my hair out. Ughh. What a _short_ story. :'(

Anyway, yeah. This chapter was rushed and un-beta-read. I'm sorry if it makes your eyes bleed.  Major Mary Sue-ness, I think. I'm trying to make a good Mary Sue. Or am I? I don't even know. Oo

Please read on though. Criticism much appreciated.

---

_The happiest people don't have it all; they just make the best out of it._

_---_

Hikari fingered her cheek lightly. It was sticky from tear stains.

She stared at the mirror, and, as always, was disgusted by her own reflection. And even more despicable was her lack of confidence.

She sighed, immediately gulping back a mouthful of air. Every time you sigh, a little puff of your happiness flies away!

So much for being happy on the first day of a new school no matter what. It had been going pretty well too, because she had been hyper after the encounter with Echizen Ryoma-_chan_.

When Hikari and Yuiko had bid each other goodbye and gone their separate ways though, everything came crashing back down.

Sure, it was alright for one whole entire day. Mum took Hikari out for a haircut – a new hairstyle, a fresh new start, she said.

But after they came back? Hikari had tried to lock herself in her room, as usual. She had watched anime to forget everything, to escape what would probably have happened. And she had daydreamed about her perfect anime Bishounen who would one day appear. She had whispered to herself over and over that Dad wasn't going to ruin anything. Nothing at all.

She had decided that no matter how loud he shouted, how hard he may hit Mum, how hard Mum would scream and cry afterwards, she would still try to have a good time on her first day of school.

But no.

Dad had been in an especially bad mood last night.

And he had been drunk.

_-Flashback-_

_The front door slammed, with such vehemence that the whole house seemed to shake._

_Mum's knees shook too. She collapsed onto the floor, her face crumpling and twisting in pain._

_Hikari peeked through the doorway, worried about her mother, yet scared at the same time._

_Mum was bleeding. Not that bad. Not as bad as last time, when she had to go to hospital._

_Hikari walked to the cupboard next to the kitchen and rummaged for the first-aid kid silently, wordlessly, expectantly._

_She took some cotton balls and band-aids, then handed it to her mother._

_Mum swatted her hand away. She looked up and glared, the glint in her eyes vicious, furious._

"_I don't need you help," she growled. Tears slipped down her face, her split lip bleeding. "It's all your fault! Everything's your fault! Why can't you just disappear? Why did you have to come in the first place? Why? Why?!"_

_And no matter how many times Hikari had heard that little speech, her lips still quivered. She could feel her eyes beginning to water, the lump at the back of her throat tightening, so tight it was hard to breathe._

_Hikari wanted to drop everything and run, but, as usual - her entire body was frozen._

"_You're ugly. You disgust me. No one would ever like you. All your friends just feel sorry for you, you bitch."_

_Hikari's tears were falling, unstoppable like a rainstorm. She whispered a trembling goodnight and sprinted upstairs to the warmth of her bed – not that it would comfort her at all._

"_You're ugly. Disgusting. No one would ever like you, Hikari." She __had__ repeated softly to herself. Mum's voice seemed to echo through the dark bedroom._

_Hikari attempted a smile and drifted off to sleep._

_-End flashback-_

Hikari stopped recapping the events of yesterday night in case she started crying again. She must leave a good, cheerful first impression for everybody today! That way she might make friends quicker!

At the mention of friends, Hikari watched in the mirror as her own eyes brighten up. She loved her friends so much, much more than her family. She would always want to run away from the latter. Yes, she would feel extremely guilty and regret it afterwards, but that didn't stop her. She would always put on an emotionless facade in front of her parents.

But at school? At school, she seldom – never, in fact – has to fake a smile. Her smiles around her friends were always true, sincere.

It didn't matter that they, as Mum said, may not really like her. She would rather spend a lifetime pretending, than spend a minute in that dark, empty loneliness. Hikari was so, so scared, so frightened, of being left behind. It was her worst fear.

And although people often found it annoying, she loved tagging along.

Hikari touched her newly cut bangs gingerly. They were probably too short, barely touching her eyebrows.

"Yoshi! Work hard, Hikari!" She encouraged herself, punching a fist in the air.

With one last smile at the mirror, she grabbed her backpack, rushed down the stairs and ran out the door before her mother could see her.

And she felt guilty for somewhat ignoring her Mum.

As usual.

---

Mitsuki Hikari stumbled through the halls of Seishun Gakuen, confused. The lady at the uniform shop had told her on Saturday that there would be someone to pick her up at the reception.

_Where was the reception?!_

Gosh, Hikari couldn't even find _that_. And it wasn't even an enormous school. Sure, it was big, very big, but still smaller than her old one.

However, whoever designed the layout obviously had an extremely complex and unique way of living. Who puts the reception's desk anywhere other than the very front of the building, where you walk in and 'BAM!', you see it?

How were very-direction-challenged newcomers like her supposed to get around? She had her school diary, with all the room numbers and classes, but so far all she'd been doing was walk in circles.

She was going to be late.

---

Okuda-sensei squeaked in surprise as she realized with shocking dread that she had forgotten something. Something very important.

She was supposed to be expecting a new student today! And it had totally _not_ been on her mind.

She had to find someone to pick her up at the reception – that was the traditional school rule.

She had no time to ponder about who to pick! But…Horio? Kurata? Hayama? _Who?_

Okuda-sensei finally decided upon Hoshiyama Ritsuka. He was a highly intelligent student – he often got top marks in class, in fact. But it seemed as if he never opened up to people – she actually doubted he had any friends.

The young teacher (still in her twenties) was concerned about him. She realized she had never seen him truly smile, either.

Everyone here seemed to have something against him – something probably happened before she became their sensei.

And now, maybe a new student would accept him.

So Okuda asked, and Ritsuka, who seemed dazed – he was probably woken from another of his daydreams – softly grunted a, "Betsuni." And left for the reception.

---

Fuji Syusuke strolled through the halls of Seigaku, even though the lessons had long since begun.

His sensei had told him to run a quick little errand for him, and had given him twenty minutes, because it involved quite a lot of walking around the campus.

Oh, but of course Fuji only needed less than ten minutes. He wasn't called a tensai for nothing.

So now he was slowly making his way to the Photography room, his customary smile in place. It felt as if he was ditching class, skiving, but he was really excited about the upcoming project! He wanted to decorate the room as much as possible. The teacher wouldn't know anyway.

---

Hikari rejoiced as she finally escaped the circle after seeing the same room for the fifth time. She practically threw herself onto her knees and kissed the ground.

As she walked, she noticed that this seemed like an 'Art' floor – there were little windows on every single door, allowing her to peek in. Hikari passed every room looking down at her shoes – no matter how intriguing, she didn't have time to admire all this!

When she shuffled past a particular door though, she couldn't help but stop – something had caught her eye. Pressing her eye close to the window, her peeped in – and was _amazed_ by what she saw.

The whole room was decorated beautifully, made to seem like a sky – if the vast, glittering blue of different shades covering the single wall was any indication. As Hikari looked closely, she realized they weren't just paintings; they were actual photos of the sky. There were different cloud types, in different shapes and colour, depending where the sun was when the picture was taken. As Hikari tilted her head slightly to the left so that her cheek pressed against the cold glass, she could see another wall too – half of this one was decorated with pictures of sunset.

They were all stunningly beautiful.

Hikari has always had a fetish for skies – whether it was during daytime, when the blinding sun was shining, or at night, where those beautiful stars shimmered awe-inspiringly…she loved them all. Looking at the sky always made her troubles seem so small, so irrelevant. She loved taking pictures of them too – once she got so caught up, she didn't realize she'd had her friend waiting for a full thirty minutes.

So of course, to say she was surprised that someone here at Seishun Gakuen seemed to have a similar hobby was quite an understatement. Maybe they could be friends?

A hustling of footsteps finally woke Hikari from her trance. She looked around, but saw no one. Then it belatedly dawned upon her – she was later than later than late!!! She started running, even though she didn't know where she was going. She might be lucky enough to find someone to help her.

---

Ritsuka arrived at the reception, but no one besides that fat lady whom he had never seen without a chocolate bar was in sight. He stood around absentmindedly for God knows how long, staring at the oblivious lady, who continued chomping, occasionally licking her fingers free of melted chocolate.

Ritsuka shuddered.

He detested sweetness. It made him sick.

Shaking his overgrown bangs away from his eyes, he turned around and walked back up to the classroom, cursing whoever that new student was for making him come all the way out and not showing up.

---

As Fuji got closer and closer to his destination, his footsteps quickened, and the anticipation eventually turned his walk into a slow run. As he rounded the final corner, he smile grew broader – "WHAM!" he felt his body crash into something.

He fell.

---

Hikari continued running. She was about to round another corner when someone bumped into her, _hard_. She lost her balance and fell backwards, her back landing on her school bag. Hikari winced, her eyes closing automatically.

"Ah…gomen! Are you alright?" the voice was deep, but not so deep. Hikari couldn't determine the gender of the voice's owner…it was most likely a male though.

Hikari cracked open a single eyelid, and saw a soft-looking hand in front of her face, with even softer–looking fingers. Both of her eyes opened and her breath hitched at the sight before her.

"So…pretty…" She unconsciously whispered to herself.

_Bishounen!_

---

Fuji recovered quickly, looking up to find that he'd knocked over some poor innocent girl. She was sprawled on the floor, eyes squeezed tightly. Fuji got up, apologized and offered a hand to help her up.

The girl finally opened her big eyes – and stared, her mouth slightly agape. Fuji chuckled, even though he did not know the girl's reasons for goggling. He clasped his hand over the girl's and pulled her up.

---

Hikari was still in a daze as the boy pulled her up. She'd never seen anyone so pretty in her entire life! And he was a _boy_!

The object of her rumbling thoughts was now looking at her quizzically.

---

"Saa…I'm sorry to ask, but…are you new?" Fuji asked hesitantly. For he knew all of the students here at Seishun Gakuen thoroughly, no matter how shy or quiet they may be – he would still find his fellow student's faces familiar.

And he was pretty sure he'd never seen this gaping girl in front of him before.

"Ye – yes." The girl mumbled. She looked like a freshman.

Fuji swallowed another chuckle. She looked so flustered! "Well, lessons have actually started now…are you lost?"

---

Hikari flushed as the boy asked if she was new or not. Was it that obvious? What was she doing that was not Seishun-Gakuen-student-y? Then the boy asked her was she lost or not.

"Sort – sort of." Hikari could feel her cheeks burning. "I'm – I'm supposed to be in Class Two. First year. She added quickly at the end. Looking up, she saw the boy had a kind smile on his face…that caused her to immediately look away again, as she recalled last night's events, and what her mother had called her.

It had been nice of her mother, actually. Her words made Hikari stop dreaming and go back to reality. It made Hikari a 'modest' person, and not a stupid airhead she might have been.

At least, that was what Hikari kept on telling herself.

---

Fuji's eyebrows rose ever so slightly. _Echizen's class…? Ah. This is going to be interesting_, he thought to himself. He even spotted a keychain of a tennis racket and a tennis ball hanging from this girl's bag, along with a few chibi keychains of anime characters. He wanted immediately to ask the girl if she played tennis, but decided to save it for later.

Smile still in place, he said. "Oh, I know where that is. Can I take you there?"

"REALLY?! YES!" The girl's already big eyes bulged even bigger, her whole face lightening up. Then, as if remembering her composure, she said, "I mean. Uh, yes, of course. That'd be great. Thanks." Fuji laughed softly. She must have been lost for quite some time.

Fuji lead the way and they walked in silence, Fuji still trying to restrain his soft laughs, and the girl seemingly lost in her own thoughts.

---

Ritsuka knocked before entering the classroom, but did not wait for anyone to respond. Okuda-sensei looked behind him expectantly. Then, seeing no one, gave Ritsuka a puzzled look.

Ritsuka mumbled something along the lines of, "Wasn't there." And retreated back to his seat.

Okuda-sensei had on a perplexed gaze – could she have made a mistake? She always did, after all. But as she glanced down at the sheet of paper with the information about this child in her hands, her confidence came back – she was _certain_ there was a new student coming today!

As if right on cue, a light knock sounded.

"Come in." Okuda-sensei called with an even more perplexed look.

"Sorry for interrupting." At the sound of his Fuji-senpai's voice, Ryoma – who had been drifting between sleep and consciousness with his head between folded arms – glanced up briefly, rubbing his heavy-lidded eyes. He'd been thinking about that girl tennis player Mitsuki Hikari _again_. "But I think you were supposed to be expecting a new student today."

A hush seemed to echo around the room, the whisperings mostly from the girls. What was the famous tensai doing in their classroom?

The confused yet relieved sensei craned her neck to see behind Fuji, and Fuji, of course, stepped aside.

Hikari felt as if there was a need to say something to explain her lack of punctuality. "Um..I. Uh, I sort of got lost. I'm really sorry!" She bowed, knowing her cheeks were heating up again. That fact alone made them burn even more.

"Why, thank you…Fuji-kun, is it?" Okuda-sensei questioned. Of course, that was only customary, since everyone knew Fuji's name. To Hikari, she said, "Well! Finally!" The sensei giggled lightly. "I'm sorry we didn't send someone to help you earlier! Oh, but don't think our school is always like that, ne?" Okuda added with a wink.

Hikari attempted a nervous smile. She always shied away from introductions. Around new people, she didn't speak unless absolutely necessary.

Ryoma's eyes squinted, his eyes were still a bit blurry, and Fuji-senpai was blocking his view of the newcomer. That new kid's voice sounded horribly familiar.

"Well, let's have you introduce yourself then!" Okuda-sensei beamed with unadulterated enthusiasm, ushering Hikari into the center front of room. Fuji remained next to the door, unmoving, smiling. He wanted at least to learn this girl's name.

"Um. Ano…" Hikari was stuttering now! "Ha – hajimemashite! MynameisMitsukiHikarinicetomeetyou!" She made all the words stick together like one word. Everyone laughed, and Hikari giggled nervously as well.

Oh well. Making people laugh was a blessing. It would cause their brain to release endorphins, make them healthier and hence potentially live longer.

---

Ryoma gasped and shot from his chair, hands slamming onto his desk. Everyone stopped laughing abruptly and stared at him.

"Oi, Echizen, what's wrong?" Horio asked in his loud voice. Then, lowering his voice to a whisper – for his standards, anyway, he said, "Oooh, is that your lover? Or do you think she's pretty? I can't believe it, Echizen finally falling for a girl!"

"Mitsuki…Hikari…" Ryoma breathed. He couldn't quite believe that the occupier of his thoughts for the past few days was now standing practically right in front of him.

Hikari's eyes widened in recognition. "Ryo – Ryo-chan!" And her face finally broke out into a relaxed, happy smile.

Hearing the newcomer call their prince in such an intimate manner, a few of the girls drew in sharp breaths and glared. But Hikari, of course, did not notice.

"Oh, you two know each other? That's wonderful! Ne, Echizen-kun, would you like to be Mitsuki-chan's partner?" Okuda-sensei practically screeched. But then she realized her was neglecting her plan to help Ritsuka. "Oh, wait, never mind! You dislike these jobs, don't you? Hoshiyama-kun, why don't you do it?"

Ritsuka raised an eyebrow and nodded silently.

"You don't mind, do you, Mitsuki-chan? Or would you rather be with Echizen-kun?"

"Ano…Anyone would be alright, sensei." Hikari's smile didn't falter.

"Alright! That's great! Oh, Fuji-kun, thank you so much! You really saved me there!" the energetic sensei grinned at the Third Year student. She scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it to him. "Here, the note to give to your teacher. You know, to excuse your being late."

Fuji looked surprised for a second. He'd been so amused, he'd completely forgotten about his plans to decorate the Photography room, and that he had used up his time limit. "Ah, arigatou!" Smiling, he took the piece of paper.

"See you at practice, Echizen." Waving, he turned around to walk away.

Hikari wanted to thank the senpai, but was too shy – they were in a room full of people! As she was still debating with herself, Fuji said, "Ne, Mitsuki-san, you should come watch our practice. Sore ja!"

Smiling brighter than ever, Fuji exited the room, once again chuckling softly to himself. This was going to be fun.

---

**A/N: **Ah, very little Ryoma in this one! Hehe XD Please point out any mistake you see – but that would probably cause you to write pages and pages. I'm so sorry:'( I never seem to realize mistakes unless someone very kindly pointed it out. Then I'd be all. "You noob! That was _so_ obvious, retard!" to myself. LMAO. XD

I find the switching of points of view quite confusing. Do you? Oo

Anyway, I'm going on camp next week.  Ughh. What's wrong with those school people? They're making us SCOTTISH DANCE!

So yeah, please review and make me happy. :D It's a blessing, mates, a blessing! XD


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